Why are Israel’s religious parties suddenly so influential?
Israel’s religious political parties worked for months to pass new religious legislation requiring convenience stores and groceries to close on the Sabbath. Few pieces of proposed legislation have caused more problems for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his secular and centrist Likud party.
What’s known as the minimarkets law (or supermarkets bill) deadlocked the Knesset for weeks. Shas, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party for Sephardic Jews, threatened to topple the government if these bills were not immediately passed. The Knesset finally passed the bill Jan. 9 by a one-point margin (a vote of 58 to 57), with many coalition members voting with the opposition against the bill.… Seguir leyendo »